How to Block/kill RFID Chips

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In this Instructable I will describe different ways to block or kill RFID tags. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. If you do not know about this technology yet, you should definitely start familiarizing yourself with it, because the number of different devices that utilize these types of tags is growing exponentially.

RFID chips are very similar to barcodes in the sense that a certain amount of data is contained within them, and then transmitted to a reading device which then processes and utilizes the information. The major difference is that barcodes have to be physically visible to the reading device, which is usually only able to scan them at a distance of a 12 inches or less. RFID tags, on the other hand, do not have to be visible to the reading device. They can be scanned through clothes, wallets, and even cars. The distance from which they can be read is also much greater than that of a barcode. At DEFCON an RFID tag was scanned at a distance of 69 feet, and that was back in 2005, the possible reading distance now is probably much greater than that.

There are a few different categories of RFID tags, but the most common ones, and the ones we will be dealing with in this instructable, are the "passive" type. Passive RFID chips contain no internal power supply. They contain an antenna which is able to have a current induced in it when within range of the RFID reader. The tag then uses that electricity to power the internal chip, which bounces its data back out through the antenna, where it will be picked up by the reader.

Supplies:

Step 1: Reasons for Blocking / Destroying RFID Chips

The main reason someone would want to block or destroy RFID chips would be to maintain privacy. In the last step I explained that RFID tags can be read from very long distances. The potential for abuse of this technology grows as more and more products and devices are being created with these tags built in.

Companies are getting consumers to blindly accept many RFID tagged products with the promise of convenience; however, most of the devices that contain RFID tags don't really need them. The tags may save a few seconds, but sacrifice an enormous amount of privacy and security. It is now possible for someone, with relatively simple equipment, to walk down a busy sidewalk and pickup the personal information of people carrying RFID tagged devices, without them even knowing.

Being able to block or destroy these chips allows people to decide what type of information they are willing to sacrifice for convenience.

Step 2: Where Can RFID Chips Be Found

As RFID chips become cheaper, the number of devices that include them grows.

Currently there are RFID tags in:

- US passports: The RFID tag contains all the information that is written in the passport, along with a digital picture

- Access control: Many buildings and schools require RFID tagged cards to be used for entry.

- Credit cards: Chase, and a few other banks, now issue credit cards embedded with RFID chips, called "blink". They are able to convince people it is an added convenience, but in reality it is a huge security risk.

There are many other devices which contain RFID tags; however, the ones listed are the most common and offer the greatest security risk.

Step 3: How to Block a RFID Tag

Luckily RFID tag signals can easily be blocked. This means that you will have the option to use the tag whenever you want, and prevent others from being able to read it.

The signal sent out by a RFID tag is easily blocked by metal. This means that placing the RFID tag inside of a Faraday cage will prevent the information from being read.

There are already two Instructables on how to build RFID blocking containers:

Step 4: How to Kill Your RFID Chip

In this step I will describe a few ways to permanently disable or kill an RFID chip. Most products that you own that contain RFID tags belong to you, so you have the right to destroy them; however, tampering with a US passport is a federal offense. Luckily there are ways to kill an RFID tag without leaving any evidence, so as long as you are careful, it would be pretty hard to prove that you did anything illegal.

-The easiest way to kill an RFID, and be sure that it is dead, is to throw it in the microwave for 5 seconds. Doing this will literally melt the chip and antenna making it impossible for the chip to ever be read again. Unfortunately this method has a certain fire risk associated with it. Killing an RFID chip this way will also leave visible evidence that it has been tampered with, making it an unsuitable method for killing the RFID tag in passports. Doing this to a credit card will probably also screw with the magnetic strip on the back making it un-swipeable.

-The second, slightly more convert and less damaging, way to kill an RFID tag is by piercing the chip with a knife or other sharp object. This can only be done if you know exactly where the chip is located within the tag. This method also leaves visible evidence of intentional damage done to the chip, so it is unsuitable for passports.

-The third method is cutting the antenna very close to the chip. By doing this the chip will have no way of receiving electricity, or transmitting its signal back to the reader. This technique also leaves minimal signs of damage, so it would probably not be a good idea to use this on a passport.

-The last (and most covert) method for destroying a RFID tag is to hit it with a hammer. Just pick up any ordinary hammer and give the chip a few swift hard whacks. This will destroy the chip, and leave no evidence that the tag has been tampered with. This method is suitable for destroying the tags in passports, because there will be no proof that you intentionally destroyed the chip.

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526 Discussions

Hi everyone.i had been chipped around 1 year ago and firstly i don even know about it..I tought i was going crazy because of stress.Until i found the web that i search at google about DEVICE in human body. Then i know about chips or RDID these things.Can somebody please help me? I dont know what kind of chips had been plant in my body. People can know and hear my thinking , can see my brain vision, can feel what i feel (body system), and my eye was like a camera or something, they can see what i see. Please someone helps me. Thank you : )

Hello I have a RFID implant inside me as somebody has injected it into and I wasn't aware, I think it's a RFID microchip for animals and somehow it works on humans or it might just be a RFID implant for humans. I don't know where it located but I would like to know how to destroy the frequency or the device. I can hear the people who are doing this and they can see and hear what I'm thinking, it sounds absurd but this is the case. How would you suggest going about this?

This is something totally different... you can thank your government for this !!!! It is called ELF/EMF waves. It is human mind trafficking. They have a system and patten in place up and running as we speak. I also suffer from this. Aluminum foil on the back of your phone will help to stop a lot of this from happening!! It’s more or less cyber bullying.

Hey gabz2133. I read your comment and I'd like to help you understand this better. RFID is incapable of doing what you're describing. I'll try to explain.

An RFID reader works by sending electronic energy at whatever object holds the RFID tag. When the tag 'receives' this energy, it provides power to the teeny tiny embedded microchip that holds the information. If you look closely at images of RFID tags online, you'll notice they look like spirals of metal strips. This length of metal is used as an 'antenna' of sorts for the energy I mentioned before. If you were to peel apart a public transit pass, you would see an RFID tag embedded in it, and the reader on the turnstile works exactly how I described before.

Here's the thing- RFID tags don't hold very much information. Almost all RFID tags sold today are pre-programmed at the factory, and can't be reprogrammed at all. Often times they only hold numbers, about 16 characters in length. Some security companies use tags for door access, and those tags will often have a mixture of letters and numbers programmed for that specific building or company. It is possible to reprogram RFID tags, but it's very rare indeed.

What doesn't happen is the chip being reprogrammed and beaming to someone a great distance away. If they were reading your thoughts, they would need a device that's writing that information to the teeny tiny tag, and they would need a reader that's very very close. After they receive your thoughts, they would need to erase what's on the tag and rewrite it, constantly. That's the work of a computer, not something the size of a grain of rice.

RFID is a very low-power technology and as such, you often can't get reliable readings at distances more than a foot or two, without having a reader that's so big you would easily notice someone pointing it at you. And even then, if they had a gigantic reader, it almost definitely wouldn't be able to read through walls.

There are lots of people who have chosen to have RFID tags implanted in them as science experiments or as part of their hobby in technology. They've uploaded videos of the process and I can safely say, it doesn't look pain-free at all. If someone put a tag inside you, you would absolutely notice an open wound in the area they implanted it.

There are also no RFID tags that contain a microphone, recording device, and transmitter. Technology just hasn't had the need to make that possible yet. If you were hearing the people who did this, that would require yet another device to be tied into this whole system, a speaker that would broadcast the sound. And if all of this is implanted inside your body, the sounds they would receive would be muffled noise, and you definitely couldn't hear them from a microscopic speaker inside your skin.

The only way for this to even be conceivable is using technology that doesn't exist. There has never been anything invented that allows one person to hear or read the thoughts of another person. We can measure activity of the brain, but all that tells us is you're thinking hard or excited or aroused, not specific thoughts. There has also never been an invention that forces thoughts into someone else's mind. All we have are our five sense which meet and mix in the brain.

If it isn't possible to do that, but you still hear someone else's thoughts, it could be an indication of a health issue. It couldn't hurt to talk to your doctor about it and get her or his opinion. If you aren't comfortable with that (I hate going to the doctor, lol), you should mention it to a family member or someone you trust, just to see what they think. I sure can't say I'm the #1 expert in the world, your family or friends might be able to explain it better than I can.

To summarize, what you're describing doesn't sound absurd. It's technologically impossible, but I don't doubt your honesty for a second. If you'd like to find out for yourself if there is, in fact, an RFID tag inside you, you can always buy a reader online and scan every inch of your body. You can easily find them for very little money on eBay. If you like the idea of being sure there isn't anything in your home taking your picture or listening to you, look into buying a 'bug detector'. Spies use them all the time for that exact reason.

If you have any questions that you think I could answer, please feel free to contact me and we can talk. I hope my comment helps ease your mind a little.

all of this methods leve marks. Try to use a RFID zapper. I can advice to watch YT The Post Apocaliptic Inventor. German guy living in Norway, speaking English. He discribe how to make device to shout a 400V impuls from coil powerd by 1AA battery.

Anything electronic can be easily disabled with an old-fashioned device used by vinyl record aficionados, the Zerostat 3 Anti-Static Pistol by Milty. Records got dust in the grooves. When you pulled the trigger of this little pistol like device it compressed a piezoelectric crystal to emit a whopping powerful electric spark. Aimed at any non-groove part of the record, the whole vinyl was negatively charged so that any dust in the grooves would pop out instantly. No dust in the grooves meant the needle did not damage the record from abrasive buildup.

Aimed at a fingertip it hurt like anything. An electronic component so treated curls up it's pins and just dies as if hit by lightning...which, effectively, it has been.

My solution with vinyl discs was turn the whole structure upside-down. The traditional "follower brush" knocks the dust OUT of the groove and gravity does the rest. You just have to make sure that you thoroughly clean the stylus and pickup after each playing. I'll have to dig up the last one and make an i'ble out of it.

Hey. Did you know there are non passive RFID placed on or around the door heads of apartments in USA. They emit a signal identifying you to military intelligence. CIA FBI and DHS and police and mabie sherriff also. Covert operatives placed these usually in the night and they are in houses also. Dont know how to disable them though.